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Hiring Our Heroes: Veterans get help finding jobs

Nearly 300 attend job fair for veterans and their spouses

By Andrea Gillhoolley

andreagillhoolley@ldnews.com @agillhoolley on Twitter

Updated:
12/04/2013 04:32:12 PM EST

Veteran Shannon 'Will' Williams, left, Lancaster, talks to Kimberly Sheffield of RAM Industrial Services about employment opportunities on Tuesday at the Hiring Our Heroes job fair at Fort Indiantown Gap. Sheffield said she knows of three veterans the company recently hired and said she's attended two job fairs for veterans since being hired in June. 'They're what kept us free; they're what will keep us free, and they have to have something to come home and do,' Sheffield said. (Andrea Gillhoolley — Lebanon Daily News)

Employment hasn't been steady for Williams after returning home from a year-long deployment to Iraq in 2008.

"I spent eight years in the military, in the Army Reserve. It's (employment) has been up and down," said Williams. "A lot of companies don't really want to hire people that are in the military. If you have to go away for your weekend training or drill, they might find an excuse to get rid of you."

After being let go from his full-time job in October, Williams is currently delivering pizzas part-time but will likely begin a short-term welding course in January.

Williams was one of 300 people who registered for the Hiring Our Heroes job fair for veterans and military spouses at Fort Indiantown Gap Tuesday. The event was hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, along with lead sponsors Call of Duty Endowment, Toyota, University of Phoenix and West Pharmaceuticals.

Sixty-eight employers and seven veteran service organizations were represented at the event, including Wal-Mart and dozens of smaller regional companies.

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"We hold about 150 (job fairs) a year, and the numbers vary in terms of how many people we actually touch. But we have over 20,000 confirmed hires," said Emily Clark Munoz, eastern regional events associate for Hiring Our Heroes events. "So we know we're doing something right. The other really important take away is that there are so many businesses that wanted to be here and be a part of this, that if anybody is not able to come to a job fair in person, they can always visit HiringOurHeroes.org or any of the other resources on our website and the employers are still going to be there, and in this community, wanting to hire veterans and military spouses."

Hiring Our Heroes was launched in 2011 as a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses find employment.

Many veterans may struggle to translate military experience into civilian employment. Nearly 79 percent of the veterans who have recently separated and have applied and/or interviewed for jobs think it is at least somewhat difficult to translate their military skills into something a civilian hiring manager can relate to, according to a study released in November by the Military Benefit Association with support from MetLife.

Sixty-eight employers set up booths on Tuesday at the Hiring Our Heroes job fair at Fort Indiantown Gap. Nearly 300 veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses attended. Since Hiring Our Heroes began in 2011, more than 1,500 companies have hired 21,600 veterans, military spouses and transitioning service members, according to the organization. (Andrea Gillhoolley — Lebanon Daily News)

The survey also found that 72 percent of hiring managers also think it is at least somewhat difficult to understand a veteran's skill set that is listed on resumes.

"There is a little bit of a disconnect," Munoz said, adding that during the first hour and a half of the event, a concurrent resume and mock interview workshop was held to translate those skills into civilian skills.

Meanwhile, employers such as Penn State Hershey Medical Center are working on their own solutions to close the gap. The hospital is working on creating an online military "crosswalk" service that will match veterans' military experience and job codes with open positions they may be qualified for on campus, said Jenna Spangler, who represented Hershey Medical Center with co-worker Helen Badman at the job fair.

"It's something we are excited about," Spangler said.

Michael Thomas, of Harrisburg, who currently serves in the National Guard, talked with Spangler and Badman about possible job openings in supervisory management or human resources.

"I don't want to come into entry level," he said. "I have a lot of experience even though it might not be civilian experience, but I know it's definitely transferrable."

This is the third job fair the 24-year-old has been to this year.

"I graduated college in May of 2012. After that I went to some training, then I got a job," Thomas said. "The only thing is, if the government shut down happens again, my job goes away. That's why I'm looking for a civilian job; just because that's kind of tough."

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